What she said.

Day One Hundred

“It’s almost your 100th day together,” the PD says off-camera. “Are you planning something special for your husband?”

The smile on Nana’s face is wide. She is ready to answer this question. “Yes.”

“Tell us about it.”

* * * * *

The newlywed house is now spic-and-span, thanks to Nana’s not-so-busy schedule over the past several days. It’s Joongki who will be coming home late today–his manager advised they were running late because a few more drama scenes needed to be re-shot–but that’s okay. In fact, her fake husband’s absence allows her more preparation time.

Or rather, more room for error.

Three episodes prior, she had been able to meet Joongki’s parents and younger sister when they visited Daejeon, his hometown. It had been all sorts of awkward at first, but the Song family was as amiable as their son, and it didn’t take long for Nana to foster a more comfortable relationship with them. In that short span of time, Nana had been able to convince Joongki’s mother to hand over the recipe to his favorite food.

“It shouldn’t be that hard,” she tells herself aloud, for the cameras. The piece of paper Joongki’s mother gave her has somehow survived the wear and tear of the previous weeks, when she’d unfold it to read and fold it up again, fretting over the very high probability she’d screw this recipe up. She reviews said recipe (“Joongki would always ask for galbi jjim and doenjang jjigae whenever he’d come home,” his mother said) and starts preparing the ingredients on the kitchen counter, complete with a commentary, again, for the cameras.

Someone from the show staff comments she’s cutting meat like a pro, and she giggles, delighted to hear the compliment. Joongki had always appeared so tired from his drama filming lately that Nana felt he needed a pick-me-up, at least for today, their 100th day as a fake married couple. She finds herself humming a tune from After School’s old album, gaily puttering about in the kitchen, unmindful of the time.

The doorbell rings much later, and she unwittingly lets out a squeak. The dishes aren’t done yet.

In a pale blue dress shirt she surmises as part of a costume ensemble, Joongki is a sight for sore eyes at the other side of the door. She welcomes him cheerfully, and he’s as receptive even though his eyes clearly tell a different story. They can freely hug each other now, without feeling like they’re being forced to do it for show, and she relishes the feeling of being in his arms for about three seconds.

“You’re cooking galbi,” he points out, pulling away from the embrace but making sure his other arm is still wrapped around her shoulder. “I can smell it from outside, thought it was the neighbor’s.”

“It’s almost done,” she simply says as they walk to the kitchen together. He lingers by the counter and lets Nana do her thing when she told him to relax, but he starts rolling his sleeves up anyway when he spies the dirty dishes on the sink. He’s only about to turn the faucet on when it happens.

Joongki isn’t sure what it is that caught fire, but Nana seems to be trying to save it, not minding how dangerous it is. He takes two strides and grabs her arms, pulls her away from the flames and against his chest. The show staff is quick with the fire extinguisher, and within seconds, the fire is out.

They stop filming.

But somehow, Joongki keeps Nana clutched to his chest for a couple minutes more until someone from the staff points out: “Joongki’s been hurt!”

Nana steps away and gasps in horror when she sees a nasty burn on his left forearm, but her fake husband brushes it aside. “It’s nothing, don’t worry,” he tells her. Someone steps in between them to tend to Joongki’s injury, but his eyes, now vigilant, are fixed on her. “Were you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine!” She’s almost crying. This is her fault. She doesn’t know what happened exactly, but this is all her fault for even thinking she could manage well in the kitchen.

Joongki’s manager comes in and talks to the show PD. They’ve agreed to cancel the shoot completely so the actor could be taken to the hospital for better care.

“Can my wife tag along?” he asks, and his manager looks at him as though he’s gone mad.